King of Prussia man charged with sex with underage runaway

COURTHOUSE — A King of Prussia man is headed to trial for alleged sex crimes involving a runaway teenage girl at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Upper Merion. Paul Jeffrey Corrigan, 47, of the 500 block of Philadelphia Avenue, Upper Merion, is charged with indecent assault, corruption of minors, concealing the whereabouts of a child and furnishing alcohol to minors. The district attorney’s office unsealed a criminal complaint against him Thursday.

According to the arrest affidavit, on June 4, the teenager’s parents filed a missing person report with Upper Merion police for their runaway daughter. They told police they believed she took off sometime after midnight that night.

The next day, officers on duty recognized the girl outside the hotel, smoking a cigarette. That’s when she reportedly told them she was staying at the hotel, and she led officers to Corrigan’s room.

Around this same time, police reportedly received a call from Corrigan’s wife, who had received a text message from him stating that he was “sheltering a girl” and “that it was a mistake.”

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When police entered the hotel room, they spotted Corrigan in the bathroom, wearing only his underwear and brushing his teeth. Officers also reportedly spotted a bottle of lubricant, an opened, empty box advertising a vibrator and an empty Victoria’s Secret bag, all in plain view. Sheets were strewn about the bed.

Upper Merion Police Chief Thomas Nolan said Corrigan was “not shocked to see our officers there,” and even finished brushing his teeth before he addressed them.

“Right now, we want to make sure there is nobody else he took advantage of,” Nolan said. “He was in a position of trust and was mentoring her. He may have had access to other children.”

Investigators learned Corrigan may have, at one time, been a teacher with the School District of Philadelphia.

When police interviewed the teen, she reportedly told them she had met Corrigan at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in March, and they began seeing each other. According to the affidavit, he told her he loved her and she “fell for it.”

She reportedly began sneaking out at night to meet up with Corrigan. Police said the pair rendezvoused about 10 times in the parking lot of the King of Prussia fire substation on Beidler Road. The victim reportedly told police Corrigan plied her with alcohol and bought her cigarettes, a pink Zippo lighter, a birthday card, clothes from T.J. Maxx, a vibrator from Spencer’s Gifts and lingerie from Victoria’s Secret.

“We’re dealing with a situation where you have a 16-year-old child, who clearly is vulnerable, who has significant issues that caused her to be attending an AA meeting,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman. “In the context of that, she met this man. He was in a position of mentorship and guidance, and from the facts and the investigation, it appears he took complete advantage of that relationship and that vulnerability and engaged in acts that were designed to corrupt her morals.”

While at the hotel, the girl told police that Corrigan ordered pornographic movies, which she said made her feel uncomfortable. When she told him her mother was texting her and police were looking for her, Corrigan reportedly told her to turn the phone off.

Corrigan waived a preliminary hearing on Wednesday. He is currently in custody at Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $750,000 cash bail, raised from $500,000 originally.